Jill Vialet

Jill Vialet founded Playworks in 1996, in two schools in Berkeley, California. Since then, Playworks has become the leading national nonprofit leveraging the power of play to bring out the best in every kid.

Playworks brings play and physical activities to children across the country, and this year will reach 900,000 students through on-site coaches, professional training, and consultative partnership, serving 1,800 schools and youth-serving organizations. In 2009, Playworks was selected as a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.

Prior to Playworks, Vialet founded the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, California, and served as its executive director for nine years. Prior to that, she served as the director of Harvard’s Public Service Program.

Vialet’s honors include the James Irvine Leadership Award, the Pahara Aspen Education Fellowship, and Radcliffe’s Jane Rainie Opel Award for achievement by a young alumna. In 2011, she was named by Forbes as one of the top 30 leading social entrepreneurs and recognized by the Women’s Sports Foundation as one of 40 Women Leaders in honor of the anniversary of Title IX. During the 2015-16 school year, Vialet was an Education Fellow at Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.